Bun Lai

Bun Lai harvesting seaweed on his restaurant's seaweed and shellfishing beds in Connecticut in 2015

Bun Lai is an Asian American chef who was born in Hong Kong in 1973. He is a leader in the sustainable food movement.^[1][2] His family restaurant, Miya's in New Haven, Connecticut, is the first sustainable sushi restaurant in the world.^[3][4] His mother, a Congressional Award recipient for her contribution in sustainable seafood, ^[5] is the founder of Miya's and his father is a Cambridge and Yale University-educated scientist and surgeon.^[6][7]

Bun Lai and Miya's has been featured wide range of publications including National Geographic,^[8] Time Magazine,^[9] The New York Times,^[10] Prevention Magazine,^[11] Eating Well Magazine,^[12] Outside Magazine,^[13] Scientific American Magazine,^[14] The Atlantic,^[15] Food and Wine Magazine, ^[16] and The New Yorker,^[17] Popular Mechanics Magazine, ^[18]

Career

In 2001, Bun Lai initiated the removal from the menu of seafood that was caught or farmed in a way that was detrimental to the long term well-being of the harvested species or it's habitats. Bun Lai is credited as the first chef in the world to implement a sustainable seafood paradigm to the cuisine of sushi.^{[19][20][21][22]} The sweet potato sushi roll, which Bun Lai created in 1995 at Miya's, is the California Roll of plant-based sushi. Today it can be found on sushi menus throughout the country.^[23][24] The use of brown rice —instead of white rice—and other whole grains for sushi, is also a Bun Lai innovation, which today is emulated throughout the world of sushi.^[25][26]

In 2005, Bun Lai created the world's first invasive species menu. The menu featured locally caught invasive species such as Asian shore crabs and European green crabs. The invasive species menu was created in order to take pressure off of popular over-fished species by utilizing ones, instead, that are abundant but ecologically destructive. ^{[27][28][29][30]}

Bun Lai is on the Council of Directors for the True Health Coalition/GLIMMER which was founded by Dr. David Katz (Director Yale University Prevention Research Center) and Dan Buettner (Director Blue Zones Project).^[31] Bun Lai is the former Director of Nutrition for a non-for-profit that serves low income diabetics.^[32]

Bun Lai has authored papers which were published in Scientific American Magazine and Harvard University Design Magazine.^[33][34] He is a sought after educator who has spoken at the White House http://^[35] and as a keynote for organizations such as The American Fisheries Society^[36] and the World Wildlife Fund at the National Geographic Society.^[37]

Accolades

• White House Champion of Change for Sustainable Seafood Award recipient^[38]
• James Beard Foundation award nominee^[39]
• An EcoSalon 11 Most Influential Chefs in the U.S.^[40]
• New Haven 50 Most Influential Person^[41]
• Huffington Post's Greatest Person of the Day^[42]
• Recipient of the Yale Elm-Ivy Award.^[43]
• Included in the book Legendary Locals of New Haven^[44]
• Recipient of The Hamden Hall Alumni Achievement Award^[45]
• Feast for Foote honoree^[46]

In popular culture

• Bun Lai was featured in Vice Munchies ^[47]
• Bun Lai was lampooned on Saturday Night Live for its use of cicadas in its sushi.^[48]
• Bun Lai was satirized by the Director of SpongeBob SquarePants.^[49]
• Bun Lai was featured with Chef Nathan Lyon on Emmy nominated Good Food America."^[50]
• Bun Lai appeared on ABC.^[51]
• Bun Lai was on Food Network's Chopped.^[52]
• Bun Lai was interviewed on NPR's Colin McEnroe Show ^[53]
• Bun Lai was interviewed by NPR's John Dankosky^[54]

References